Louis Vuitton has officially entered the makeup arena with La Beauté Louis Vuitton, a full-colour cosmetics line launched in late August 2025.  The debut collection – designed by the legendary makeup artist Dame Pat McGrath – includes 55 shades of Le Rouge Louis Vuitton lipsticks, 10 tinted balms and 8 eyeshadow palettes.  Each lipstick is priced at $160 and the palettes at $250, making headlines for their audacious price tags. In other words, Louis Vuitton is pivoting into beauty in a big way – a move commentators note is “historic” thanks to Pat McGrath’s involvement– and testing just how much luxury consumers will pay for lipstick.

‍

Each Le Rouge tube is housed in a heavy, monogrammed metal case designed by industrial designer Konstantin Grcic, with magnetic closure and even a “lipstick flower” motif on the cap (echoing LV’s luggage heritage).  Inside, the formula is infused with a custom fragrance by master perfumer Jacques Cavallier, with notes of mimosa, rose and jasmine.  The brand promises “12 hours of vivid color” and skin-nourishing ingredients (shea butter, jojoba, red algae).  McGrath has co-crafted every shade and finish, ensuring a range that “feels less like makeup and more like an heirloom”. Importantly, the cases are refillable: customers buy the engineered case once and then top it up with $69 refills  Louis Vuitton even offers luxury accessories for the line (bag-charm lipstick holders, a custom vanity case, etc.) – underscoring that this lipstick is meant to live on a vanity or handbag as a status symbol, not be tossed when empty.

‍

A New Luxury Ceiling

At $160 per tube, Le Rouge Louis Vuitton shatters previous price ceilings. By comparison, Hermès’ entry-level makeup – the 2020 Rouge Hermès lipsticks – sold for just $67 each (with $42 refills). Other fashion-house lipsticks are typically much cheaper: Christian Louboutin’s lipsticks top out around $90, and even ultra-luxe beauty brands like Clé de Peau rarely exceed $113. Mainstream prestige brands are more modest: a Dior Rouge Dior lipstick is roughly $37, and Charlotte Tilbury’s bestselling lipsticks retail around $38–$40.  Even within LVMH, Louis Vuitton’s move is extreme – Dior did debut a one-off $500 lipstick in 2023 (and Guerlain a $27,000 fragrance), but those were limited editions. The new LV price point is “not a complete outlier” in ultra-luxury, but it’s nearly double the Hermès Silky Lipstick (~$80) and leaps past the highest-standing lipsticks on the market. In short, Louis Vuitton is deliberately resetting the bar. Industry analysts call this “hyper-premiumisation”: LV is “setting a new ceiling” for makeup. By making the lipstick a keepsake accessory rather than an ordinary consumable, Vuitton is reframing makeup as a collectible good.

‍

‍

Strategy: Myth and Margins

So why charge so much?  Experts point out that the $160 price is mostly a signal of brand and luxury, not higher raw costs. The actual ingredients in a lipstick aren’t far from any other good-quality lipstick, and a typical premium formula costs only a few dollars to make. Instead, Vuitton is selling “sensory and cultural cues” – the craftsmanship, fragrance and ritual of use – that mass brands can’t easily copy. In other words, you’re paying for the cachet: a monogrammed gilt case, a curated color story, and the chance to own a fragment of LV mythology.

‍

‍

Strategically, the refillable model also drives future sales. Analysts point out that luxury beauty often enjoys gross margins above 80%, meaning the $160 price could be 3–5× the underlying cost. But once a customer owns the custom metal case, subsequent refills (at $69) capture most repeat revenue. This “$160 once, $69 forever” economics encourages multiple purchases while projecting sustainability (refillable) and exclusivity (collectible). Louis Vuitton is using beauty as an entry point and traffic driver, drawing consumers into its boutiques and online ecosystem. Beauty has shifted into the realm of lifestyle—makeup isn’t just about self-expression anymore; it’s now considered an essential offering for luxury brands, just like handbags or shoes. A Vuitton lipstick is meant to be worn but also shown off, a high-end status prop.

Luxury Beauty vs. Fashion

The La Beauté launch underscores a broader trend: fashion houses increasingly sell beauty as the most attainable form of luxury. In today’s market, “flagship” designer handbags routinely cost $5,000 or more, and even so-called entry-level bags often start near $3,000. In that context, a $160 lipstick feels comparatively affordable. As shoppers grow more discerning, fragrances and cosmetics are seen as accessible luxuries—small splurges that carry a strong sense of value. Perfume and makeup are inherently cheaper than bags yet carry the same luxury branding. This dynamic is exactly what Hermès leveraged, a new, more accessible way to get a taste of the Hermès lifestyle”.

‍

In short, you can splurge on a $67 Hermes lipstick even if you can’t (or won’t) spend $10,000 on a Birkin.  Similarly, a $40 Charlotte Tilbury lipstick or a $150 Louboutin shade has long been a gateway into high fashion for many consumers – a “democratic entry point” into a $4,000 brand universe. Louis Vuitton’s move, by contrast, raises the entry fee: “with LV, it’s about alignment with heritage,” not just acces. The brand is redefining the standard for ultra-luxury beauty, establishing both the image and the price of what it means to be part of that world.

The Broader Context and Consumer Culture

Louis Vuitton’s leap into beauty also reflects evolving consumer desires. Younger shoppers and social-media audiences hunger for luxury in formats they can display daily. Beauty products thrive on social platforms like TikTok, drawing quick attention and easy sharing—something handbags can’t match in the same way.

Unboxing a couture lipstick or swatching an eyeshadow palette becomes an aspirational ritual.  Luxury brands recognise this: LVMH’s 2025 results showed its perfumes and cosmetics led growth even as its fashion cooled. Technology plays a role too: virtual try-ons, AI fragrance advisors and shoppable content have made beauty experiences fluid across channels. In short, beauty combines indulgence, high margins and digital appeal.

‍

‍

Historically, of course, fashion and beauty have long been intertwined.  Chanel and Dior built empires on makeup and perfume. In the 2010s, Tom Ford famously charged nearly $50 for a lipstick, paving the way for today’s “lipstick wars.” Now, nearly every luxury house – from Gucci and Valentino to Prada and Hermès – treats cosmetics as strategic brand extensions. Louis Vuitton is one of the few heritage houses that had held off launching a permanent makeup line, so it needed to “make a statement” when it finally did. The result is an audacious bet: can a tiny object convey as much of the LV mystique as a leather bag? Early signs suggest Vuitton is confident it can. While the heritage is well established, true success now depends on delivering quality as much as aesthetics—Louis Vuitton’s brand reputation depends on it.

Outlook – Beyond the Lipstick

La Beauté Louis Vuitton is more than a lipstick launch; it’s a statement about luxury itself. By compressing Vuitton’s symbols and storytelling into a $160 tube, the brand is testing a new model for ultra-luxury beauty.  In the short term, it’s driving social buzz (and likely waiting lists) as the world watches who will pay to carry Louis Vuitton colour on their lips. In the long term, it opens the door for other fashion names to push boundaries. Indeed, once one house raises the bar, others will follow suit.

Whether or not every aspirational shopper will bite at $160 (or will stick to Chanel’s $40 options) remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: with La Beauté, Vuitton has reshaped the conversation about entry points into luxury – proving that sometimes, the smallest accessory can carry the biggest brand message.